— called also doctor of the church
b : a learned or authoritative teacher
c : a person who has earned one of the highest academic degrees (such as a PhD) conferred by a university
Most of the college’s faculty members are doctors in their fields. The class is being taught by Doctor Menzer.
2a : a person skilled or specializing in healing arts especially : one (such as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian) who holds an advanced degree and is licensed to practice See your doctor if the condition worsens. an eye doctor doctors’ bills
3a : material added (as to food) to produce a desired effect
b : a blade (as of metal) for spreading a coating or scraping a surface
4 : a person who restores, repairs, or fine-tunes things
transitive verb
1a : to give medical treatment to
doctored her ailing husband
2a : to adapt or modify for a desired end by alteration or special treatment
doctored the play to suit the audience The drink was doctored.
b : to alter deceptively
accused of doctoring the election returns The pitcher tried to cheat by doctoring the baseball.
intransitive verb
1 : to practice medicine
a career doctoring in the country
2 dialect : to take medicine